By: Ada Inman and Marshall Curry This past year, EPIC-Asia programs selected as seed grant recipients from the virtual 2021 EPIC-Asia Workshop, worked tirelessly against the odds to launch EPIC Model programs. With the support of EPIC-Asia Coordinator, Dr. Nuttavikhom Kay Phanthuwongpakdee, these Asia program leaders recently published Program Stories. The stories summarize their individual […]
By: Ada Inman The Sustainable Communities Partnership (SCP) program at the University of St. Thomas entered into an extended partnership with Metro Transit spanning from 2017 to 2024. During this partnership, students gained valuable hands-on experience as researchers, designers, writers, marketers, and computer scientists. In return, Metro Transit gained insight and solutions to on-going and […]
Nadia Voigt da Mata is an Architect and an Urban Planner currently in Angola. She is a Fulbright Alumni who in 2020 graduated with a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning in the School of Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Iowa. During graduate school, Nadia concentrated her course studies in transportation planning, which led her to be involved with Keokuk’s city and the “Keokuk Pathways and Green Streets Plan”. Nadia is currently invested in pursuing a doctoral degree, for which she secured a Merit Scholarship from the Angolan Government in September 2021. She hopes to continue learning and conducting research in sustainable transportation planning, and in the future work with communities such as Keokuk. […]
Shelley Oltmans is an Industry Specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in the department of Community and Economic Development. In this position she also serves as the Executive Director of the Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce. She is a proud alumna of Iowa State University, where she received a Master in Community and Regional Planning and Master of Science in Sustainable Agriculture. In her Industry Specialist position, she teaches community leadership and facilitates local and regional planning efforts with nonprofits and local governments. Her strengths are partnering with government entities and nonprofits to collaborate in providing educational and economic development opportunities. As the director of the Chamber of Commerce she is highly involved in catalyzing reinvestment in housing and the built environment. […]
Dr. Jerry Anthony is an architect and urban planner. He is an accomplished scholar. His article, “The effect of Florida’s Growth Management Act on Housing Affordability,” was named one of most outstanding articles published in the Journal of the American Planning Association in 20 years. He was named a HUD Urban Scholar in 2001. Dr. Anthony is an outstanding teacher. He has received the “Excellence in Planning Education” award from the Iowa chapter of the American Planning Association—one of only two educators in Iowa to be ever given this award. In 2003, Dr. Anthony co-founded a non-profit entity, Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County, to provide a new source of funding for affordable housing development in Johnson County, Iowa. In 2019, Dr. Anthony was awarded the University of Iowa’s prestigious Michael J. Brody award for Excellence in Service. In 2020, Dr. Anthony was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. […]
Marc Schlossberg, Ph.D. Co-Director, Sustainable Cities Institute; Professor, City & Regional PlanningSustainable City Year Program University of Oregonschlossb@uoregon.edu541-346-2046Marc’s LinkedInMarc’s Twitter Marc is one of the co-founders of the EPIC-Network and the first EPIC university program. He began the work in 2009. He co-directs the University of Oregon’s Sustainable City Institute which houses the Sustainable City […]
By: Max Prestigiacomo The Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) was launched in 2009 in the School of Urban & Regional Planning by Dr. Chuck Connerly, since then, IISC has expanded and now works with over 20 Community Partners, putting the EPIC Model into practice. Since its founding, this EPIC Model program has made a […]
Jaimie Hicks Masterson, AICP is Director of Texas Target Communities at Texas A&M University, a high-impact service-learning program that works alongside underserved communities to plan for resilience. Based on this work, in 2019, the Liberty County Strategic Plan received the national Silver Planning Achievement Award from the American Planning Association. She is author of “Planning for Community Resilience: A Handbook for Reducing Vulnerabilities to Disasters,” which focuses on hazard mitigation strategies and tools for government officials, planners, and emergency managers that can be incorporated pre-disaster. She is the engagement coordinator Institute for Sustainable Communities and the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard project funded by the Department of Homeland Security and a part of the Center for Coastal Resilience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. […]
Dr. Laura Martin brings nearly 15 years of experience working on poverty alleviation programs at the grassroots and public policy levels. After college, she facilitated service learning trips and managed a community development project in rural Nicaragua. Most recently, Laura worked as a Policy and Research Coordinator at the Texas Association of Community Health Centers, where she analyzed legislation and regulations impacting health centers, and coordinated trainings for a federal grant to conduct CHIP and Medicaid outreach and enrollment in the Rio Grande Valley. As Legislative Director for Texas State Representative Armando Walle, Dr. Martin developed legislation regarding juvenile justice and stemming the high school dropout rate. […]
Madison, WI, August 27, 2021 – The Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities -Network (EPIC-N) , a global non-profit organization that unites the human capital of universities with local governments and communities to improve quality of life and social wealth, announced its upcoming #2021EPICN Conference. The virtual, interactive event will focus on updating the membership on the growth and proliferation of the EPIC Network, the trending topics affecting EPIC programs, and the resources available to tackle them. Taking place October 5-7, the event offers attendees from across EPIC-N’s global community the opportunity to connect with peers and gain fresh ideas on how to enhance EPIC programs at every level, from beginner to mature programs. […]
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